Tradition

Jesse and I are big on certain traditions. I believe one of my absolute favorites is the long drive to Kenosha Pass to see the Aspens at the peak of their color change. I have uploaded a bunch of pictures for your viewing pleasure. I actually owe you a TON of pictures but this time of year is pure insanity. I promise to catch up when Oct is over.

I cut my hair, what do we think?

3rd Installment

And now for the latest episode of Anna's Dance Party.

Rest in Peace

We awoke this morning to discover that both Isaac's praying mantis AND his black widow died over night.

Any of you who know Isaac know what kind of day we had as a result.

I am not sure devastated is a strong enough word but I am EXHAUSTED and cannot come up with anything else.

So exhausted, in fact, that I flat out forgot a dinner date with my mom and left her to assume that we had all perished in a horrible, flaming car accident.

It's been a day.

Love to all, I am sure tomorrow will be better. (I hope)

Crud

The evening news has just run a story about Chipotle stock falling today after reports of less than impressive third quarter profits.

I am pretty sure this is a direct result of the S Family's new found, "We will not eat out no matter how busy and stressful the school year gets" policy. Amazingly and uncharacteristically we have been sticking closely to this self imposed ultimatum.

Now I have guilt.

My Old Friends

Nothing, absolutely nothing, could make this week remotely tolerable other than the appearance of my dear old fruity friends.

If you are unfamiliar with the Honeycrsip please see this post for more information. You will want to familiarize yourself with these little gems ASAP.

I am neither kidding nor embarrassed to admit that when I spied their magical name amidst the many lessor apple varieties at my local super I squealed out loud, clenched my shaking fists and lept for joy.

Now go forth and eat apples. You can all come back and thank me later.

I'm sure you were hoping for a post about more than just apples and I do sincerely apologize, but I am supposed to be working. I promise cute pics soon!

Fare Thee Well Summer of 2008

Doesn't our Anna have beautiful eyes? I think Aunt Esther took this picture.

I met with a new student and his mother last week. The student's mom studied my face so intently that I finally had to ask her if I had dirt on my nose or some other embarrassing issue. She laughed, apologized and complimented my blue eyes. Apparently she found them quite intriguing. She asked if any of my offspring share my eye color and I had to laugh and inform her that despite the bright blueness of my eyes, those genes are no match for the dominance of the S Family brown eyes. All of our kids have those big S Family brown eyes.

I guess I have always felt a bit disappointed that I don't and probably won't have a child who shares my blue eyes. But honestly, when I look into these striking big brown eyes, I now have to ask myself, "How on EARTH can you be disappointed with those??"






















Despite the lousy state of my long term memory, closed head injury and all, I have to say that I honestly do not remember bidding farewell to a summer with quite as much fondness as I have for the summer of 2008.

It has been a lovely few months. Perhaps it's because I actually took the whole summer off? I don't know exactly why I feel a difference this year but I do.

Not that I don't love the fall. Autumn is, in fact, my favorite time of year. I am a sucker for leaves changing color, pumpkin flavored ANYTHING, crisp mornings and evenings, evening walks to the local coffee shop through crackling leaves, the start of school for both myself and the kids; the list goes on and on.

Why did I start this post?

Ah yes. The S Family celebrated the unofficial end of summer with a small family BBQ. Anna was delightfully overdressed for the occasion. She wore the darling dress you see above only once for a wedding and it seemed a shame not to wear it at least twice before she outgrows it.

Isaac and his bugs.

Each and every one of these containers holds a creepy crawly that Isaac or Nathan has caught, housed and lovingly cared for.

While on a Labor Day hike this past weekend I added to the collection by single-handedly catching a three inch praying mantis.

Just so we are clear, I fully expect each and every one of you to repeat this story to the local authorities should my parenting aptitude ever be called into question. You might also mention the baby mouse and the baby bird.

I don't think I'm what you might call squeamish, but I have to admit I was not at all excited about trying to keep hold of that squirming, biting creature.

Isaac is thrilled and now counts the praying mantis among the crown jewels of his collection. Yes, the black widow is still in residence.

I might just rethink that Butterfly Pavilion, aka The Bug Zoo, membership. Really, WHAT is the point when I have the same thing in my family room?

Check it out! Phantom can learn!

That's about all from chez S. School has started for both myself and the boys which means that in the next week or so life will get busy pretty darn quick. I'll post some back to school pics as soon as I can.

Oh yes and all you sports fans out there should know that Anna is jazzed and ready for the start of football season as evidenced in the video below.



Love to all!

Needs no intro...

In Spite

Some nights, in spite of the our very best efforts and after reading, comprehending and applying the excellent advice of many well educated experts, this is how the eldest and second eldest members of our offspring end up spending the night.

Hey, can't win every time eh?

So Mary, concern yourself not with the idea that it is only you and/or only Sam. Whilst the information I recently recommended is excellent and should absolutely be given the old college try, nothing is fool proof and there will always be not so great days, exceptions to the rule, yada, yada, yada.

Overall, bedtimes have gone much more smoothly in the S house as of late and to that end I choose to invoke the slogan of my favorite new expert on such matters.

Progress NOT Perfection!

Love to all!

PS I particularly like the way Isaac has arranged his giant tarantula to stand guard over him as he sleeps. I cropped the picture in close in order to give you a better view.

PPS While the boys slept on the floor in the hallway, I believe Isaac's pet black widow, properly contained in its housing unit, enjoyed a nice comfy spot at the foot of his bed.

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE these boys?

Check It Out

Finally! On the path to independent wealth!

(giggle snicker snort)

My blog is worth $564.54.
How much is your blog worth?

PS Isaac has caught and is now caring for a pet black widow. His numerous bug houses also house a cat faced spider, several wolf spiders and a number of funnel webs. On a daily basis he tenderly and carefully catches whatever insects are at hand and feeds them to his charges.

Oh the joys of motherhood.

Camping with the S Fam

We are home and we had a BLAST.

Ok, it rained. Ok, it rained quite a bit. Ok I did not sleep for two nights.

But STILL.

No phone, no TV, no e-mail, no fax; What more could a girl ask for? Or rather what more could a girl NOT ask for?

Lots of gorgeous pics below. As you can probably tell, everyone had a grand time. Our last few minutes at the camp site and our drive home are unfortunately typified by the video clip below, minus the booze and imagine the bees are real, but the overall trip was a rousing success.

Love to all!

Love In The Time of Potty Training

I know I gripe and complain about every milestone my darling Anna achieves; Saddened to have to admit she is growing up. However, I have to admit that I feel NONE of that desperate need to cling to her baby months when it comes to potty training. I will wave bye bye to the "joy" of diapers and wipes with the same abandon with which I greeted the end of my last pregnancy. I hate being pregnant and I H.A.T.E changing poopy diapers.

Not that we are anywhere near the end of the process. Quite the opposite in fact, we have just begun. We are taking a slow and steady wins the race approach as our lives remain a bit summery, meaning lots of travel and activities, to ban the diapers all together.

Anna is quite patient with the whole process considering that her so called mother has virtually NO memory of how we achieved this milestone with the boys. In consultation with our resident expert, the great Etu, we have settled on a process that we hope will be relaxing enough for all involved yet eventually achieve the desired result.

In order to save Anna any future embarrassment regarding the publishing of her daily frequency to the very public Internet, I will provide very few details other than to tell you that today was a pretty good day, considering that it was day 1 of serious effort in this battle. Onward to day 2!

Below you will find an amusing picture of the Day 1 Potty Training aftermath in our guest bathroom.

Below that you will find photographic evidence of the annual extended family summer water balloon fight. An event greatly enjoyed by all who participate, this year's battle was particularly meaningful as it was staged to both entertain and celebrate the continuing recovery of our beloved BaBa from his recent surgery. Rock on BaBa! We hope you had fun!

Next weekend: Camping with all three kids. the horror

Love to all!

Highly Recommended

If you are in need of a vacation destination, 4/5 of the S Family strongly recommends the San Luis Valley . We are home and we had an absolutely wonderful time. As you can see, my friend Wendy's home is lovely, this picture does not do it justice, as are the 8 acres surrounding it. Many additional pictures below but allow me to first share with you some highlights of the trip.
















The boys were utterly blown away by the wide open space and their ability to walk out any door without asking permission or being told to watch for cars. Shortly after we arrived I told them to go out and play. They went outside, came back in, went out again, came back in again and with very puzzled expressions inquired as to the location of the backyard. We all laughed and told them outside was all backyard and they were more than free to explore. I did not see them again for 3 hours. When they returned they were as filthy and as happy as I have ever seen them.

Later that evening Wendy's husband Tom built the kids a huge bonfire. Supervised by Wendy's college aged sons, the kids roasted hotdogs and marshmellows over the fire while Wendy, my friend Danille, who also brought her 3 and 5 year old kids, and I chatted in the house. Later that evening the door opened quietly, Nathan slipped up beside Wendy, wrapped his arms around her, gave her his best puppy dog eyes and in his sweetest voice asked, "Ms. Wendy, where do you keep the gasoline?"

On our final evening the boys, assisted again by Wendy's sons, went fishing, caught 4 trout, cleaned and roasted them for their dinner. Isaac loves fish but he hesitated after observing the removal of the bones. Isaac's fish usually arrives deboned, plated and garnished with parsley and lemon. I removed all trace of skin, fins, etc and convinced him to taste it. Poised next to an open trash can, with a cup of water in his hand he timidly placed a small bite in his mouth. After a moment of thoughtful chewing his eyes opened wide and he said in amazement, "This is good! But...it would be better with ketchup."







The view.



























































Morning girls!














Throwing rocks in the Rio Grande.

Sand Dunes